


Thaw

by sneetchstar



Series: Arya x Gendry Week 2020 [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, axg week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sneetchstar/pseuds/sneetchstar
Summary: The weather turns warm and people start wearing fewer clothes.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: Arya x Gendry Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862086
Comments: 22
Kudos: 166





	Thaw

**Author's Note:**

> First prompt for Arya x Gendry Week 2020: The return of spring

Winter in the North is brutal. Especially for a Southron lad like Gendry. But when one receives a full scholarship to the University of Winter Town, one takes the scholarship, snow or no snow.

And there is _plenty_ of snow. And wind. And cold. Cold so hard and heartless that it makes a person question their sanity whenever they must step out of doors.

Cold that makes the snot inside your nose instantly freeze should you have the audacity to breathe in.

Cold that makes a person say “fuck” aloud with their first step out.

However, the return of spring seems all the sweeter for it. Especially the first really warm spring day (which sometimes doesn’t arrive until June), when people can be seen spending time outdoors because they actually wish to.

When people can go out wearing only one layer of clothing. Even shorts and sandals for the locals.

Like the Starks. They are very local.

Gendry’s roommate Jon is a Stark. Technically, he’s a Targaryen, but his mother was a Stark and he was adopted and raised by his Stark uncle and aunt after his parents died.

The first time Gendry saw Jon Stark head out in January wearing nothing heavier than a hoodie, he thought the man was mental.

That was until he met Jon’s little sister Arya. 

Arya came to UWT as a freshman when Gendry was in his third year. She quickly became a frequent visitor to the apartment he shares with Jon and their friends Sam and Hot Pie.

If Jon is mental, Arya is fucking insane.

And Gendry has been fascinated with her since the day he met her, when she strode into the apartment without knocking, wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and flip flops in late September. He was huddled over his laptop wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and slippers, with a blanket over his shoulders as well.

The first words he heard he speak were to Jon, and they were, “Who’s the lightweight?”

She would drink iced coffee in December. Show up in February with a half-eaten ice cream cone in her hand. Spurn the use of a coat at all once April came around.

But nothing could have prepared Gendry for the sight of Arya Stark, at the end of term, striding at her usual breakneck speed through the quad, wearing a short sundress.

“Gen? Mate, you okay?” Hot Pie’s concerned voice draws his attention back to their conversation.

“Hmm?”

“You trailed off mid-sentence,” Hot Pie explains. Then he sees Arya, who has spotted them and is now walking towards them. “Oh. I see why. Gendry.exe has shut down unexpectedly.”

“See why what?” Gendry asks, trying to sound innocent.

“I think I’m going to leave,” Hot Pie says, standing from the concrete wall on which they are sitting. “My bum is getting wet because you’re clearly sitting here in de-Nile and I’m too close.”

“Piss off,” Gendry says without any real animosity. “Hey, Arya,” he quickly greets once she is close enough. He doesn’t know where to look. There’s so _much_ of her on display before him. So much velvet-soft skin for his eyes to feast on that he begins to think Hot Pie is correct: Gendry.exe has indeed shut down.

“You okay? You look a little pale. Surely it’s not still too cold for you,” she says, still standing in front of him.

He wishes she would sit, but he knows she is standing because this puts her face just a little higher than his, so they can converse without either of them straining their necks.

“No, I’m okay. It’s really nice out today,” he says. “You… you look nice. I didn’t think you liked dresses though.”

She raises an eyebrow at him. “Why do you think that?”

“Because you never wear them… and I distinctly remember you complaining to your sister and then your mother over the phone about ‘having’ to wear a dress to Robb’s wedding,” he says.

“What I don’t like is the societal expectations imposed by the patriarchy that try to dictate what is appropriate attire for women,” she says. “If I wear a dress, it should be because I choose to wear one. And since I’m not a bridesmaid or anything at Robb’s wedding, I should be able to wear what I bloody well want.”

Gendry takes a moment. “Fair enough,” he says. “And of course you’re right, because you always are.”

“Thank you.”

“But you still look nice. Really nice.”

“Thank you,” she repeats, even flouncing her skirt a little, exposing far too much thigh for Gendry to handle.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Talking to you.”

He sighs in fond exasperation because he can never really be annoyed with her, no matter how hard her tries. “I mean do you want to get a drink or something? Have you had dinner yet? Would you like to have dinner with me?”

She angles her head at him. “Gendry Waters, are you asking me out on a date?” she asks, intending to sound joking, but there’s a slight breathiness to her voice that makes it sound more serious than she probably intends.

He takes a deep breath. “I might be.”

She steps closer to him, almost standing between his knees. “Gendry,” she says, her voice low and soft and almost seductive, “are you asking me out because this is the first time you saw me in a dress and suddenly you realize I’m an actual woman with tits and it made your cock feel all silly?”

_Gendry.exe has experienced a fatal error._

“What? No! I mean… yeah, you look… but no! I… I’ve been wanting to ask you out for ages, but this is, like, the first time I’ve seen you when it’s just the two of us! Usually Jon or one of the other lads is around, or one of your friends, and I… I can’t just ask you out when there are other people there!”

Arya doesn’t move, still staying dangerously close to him. He has to clench his fists against his thighs to keep from reaching for her.

“You’re sure it’s not because of my tits?” she asks, her voice back to its normal tone.

“Well, I _am_ very glad you have them and they are definitely a factor, but not specifically _today_ ,” he admits. “To be honest, I’m a bit more distracted by your legs. They’re phenomenal.”

She punches him on the shoulder, but then softly asks, “Did you mean all that? That you’ve been wanting to ask me out for ages?”

He slowly, deliberately lifts his hands and places them on her waist. When she doesn’t yell or hit him again, he pulls her closer still, so she is fully nestled between his knees. “Yes,” he answers, looking up at her. “I fancy you quite a bit, Arya, and I will do whatever I can to make you happy if you’ll let me.”

He sees her cheeks flush, and his heart feels like it is skipping several beats. When she places her hands on his shoulders, then slides them to clasp behind his neck, he feels like he could either die or fly.

“Okay then, Mr. Waters. You may take me to dinner. As a date,” she says, her fingers toying with the hair at the back of his neck.

“Okay,” he hoarsely agrees.

Then she leans in the rest of the way and places a soft kiss on his lips. It is slow and tender and he wants to melt right there.

“But I expect you to put out afterwards,” she says, grinning at him, still inches away from his face.

“Oh! Double standard!” he exclaims, but then laughs. She laughs with him, and he can only pull her closer still, wrapping his arms around her small body. She smells so good, and he buries his nose in the side of her neck.

“I knew this dress would pay off,” she sighs. Then she laughs some more at the wide-eyed look of surprise on his face before darting away from him.

“Oi! Come back here!” he yells, chasing after her.

He easily catches her, his legs much longer than hers, and lifts her off her feet, spinning her around once before setting her down. “You can’t just run away. We have a date,” he says, then tilts her chin up so he can kiss her again.


End file.
